You Are The Reason
by VMikaelson
Summary: The latest case leads the major case response team to the city where the greatest love story began. They will soon learn that everything is not what it seems. Secrets are revealed and a team member's loyalty is questioned.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for pretty much dropping off the face of the earth (oops). I got a new job and it's been keeping me busy ever since. But, I'm rewatching NCIS all the way from the beginning and my broken Jibbs heart is inspired.**_

_**Summary: the latest case leads the major case response team to the city where the greatest love story began. They will soon learn that everything is not what it seems. Secrets are revealed and a team member's loyalty is questioned.**_

* * *

_If I could turn back the clock_

_I'd make sure the light defeated the dark_

_I'd spend every hour, of every day_

_Keeping you safe_

* * *

**Avenue Montaigne, 8th arrondissement**

**Paris, France**

"How is she today?" A soft voice floated through the doors, shaking the older redhead out of her reverie.

The woman turned and smiled at the newcomer. "You're home early. Skipping school?" She teased.

"You wish I'm that exciting." The young girl laughed and walked in the room. "Bonjour, grand-mère." She greeted and gave the older woman a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Bonjour, mon amour. What have you got there?" She asked, gesturing to the pink box her granddaughter was clutching.

"Macarons from Laurée."

"Mmm… Her favorite."

"I hoped these would cheer her up." The girl looked down at the box in her hands and looked back up towards the lone figure sitting in front of the grand windows of the Parisian apartment.

Located in Avenue Montaigne of the 8th arrondissement in Paris, Josephine Shepard has been living a very comfortable and lavish lifestyle in the French capital ever since she packed up and left the States after her husband's death. Coming from an affluent family, purchasing the overpriced apartment was not an issue. After all, she had a daughter to take care of and being a single parent was not an easy task. Everything was within walking distance and it certainly didn't hurt that when you look out the window, you get a full view of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. She had everything planned out in her head: raise her young daughter, send her to good European schools, make sure she has a successful career, make sure that said career has a long life expectancy and does not involve guns or violence, have her marry a nice man that will take care of her, and pester her for many grandchildren that she can spoil.

Alas, someone once said: _Man plans, and God laughs._ Her daughter chose to attend Georgetown University in D.C., went to FLETC, became a special agent for an armed federal agency called NCIS, fell in love with her boss, left him and came running back to Paris to her when she told him she loves him and he responded with: _that'll be the day_, and then revealed that she's pregnant with said boss' baby. Her daughter chose to stay with the agency and powered through desk work for the duration of her pregnancy. A couple of years and several promotions later, Jenny was offered the director position. It entailed her to live full-time in Washington, D.C., and she was torn with what to do. She didn't want to leave her only child all the way in Europe even if it was with her child's grandmother, but at the same time she knew the danger she would be putting her family in once she became the director of an armed federal agency.

Years later, Josephine had lost count of the numerous threats and attempts on her child's life. She recalled that time she decided to watch the American news channel one morning, not expecting anything out of the ordinary, when she was greeted by her daughter's photo front and center on the screen. She was kidnapped and was being held captive by some drug dealer that wanted the return of his drugs and brother - both seized by her agency. She thought that it was enough of a wake up call for her daughter to leave NCIS and come back to France to be with her family. Of course nothing ever comes easy with the Shepard's and her daughter inherited her father's stubbornness, of all things.

It took another two or three years for things to start changing. Her daughter's old friend died. He lived in Los Angeles and Jenny flew out to attend the funeral. The cause of death was a heart attack, they said. Apparently, that wasn't the case. He was murdered and it was made to look like natural causes. She found out that the killers were from Jenny's old case coming back to seek revenge for their friends' deaths. She recalled getting a frantic phone call from Ziva David informing her that her daughter was seriously injured.

_Shot multiple times. _

_Too much blood was lost. _

_One of the bullets hit a nerve._

_It didn't look good. _

She had no choice but to book her and her granddaughter on the first flight out of Paris to Los Angeles. She didn't trust anyone and she certainly wasn't letting her granddaughter leave her sight after what happened. Her daughter was in a coma and they didn't know if she was ever going to wake up. Once Jenny was stable enough, they transported her to London where the best doctors were waiting for their arrival. It took several weeks for the swelling in her brain to go down and for the surgeons to take her back to surgery to repair the nerves damaged when a bullet hit her leg. They thought she was never going to be able to walk again. However, Josephine believed in miracles and the doctors managed to fully repair the nerves. Her daughter will still be able to walk. There will just be a long recovery ahead. At that point she will take anything that she can get. Her daughter fought for her life in that diner in the middle of the desert. Multiple men against one person and she still managed to come out alive.

There had been a lengthy recovery process and although Jenny was considered "healthy," she still wasn't back to her full self. She's been having a difficult time with her therapy to be able to walk again and most of the time, the apartment was filled with tense silence after a session. Her granddaughter has been doing her best to entertain Jenny, but she could only get so far. Jacqueline Lauren Shepard-Gibbs became the light and love of her life the day she was born. Her apartment that once felt too big and lonely became filled with laughter and happiness. That was the case until her daughter's attempted murder. Then her granddaughter was forced to grow up. Wise beyond her years, Jackie tries to take care of her mother as much as she could even though she had to juggle school and extracurricular activities along with it.

Her granddaughter doesn't like to show weakness just like her mother, but there were times in the middle of the night when she thought everyone would be asleep and Josephine would hear sobs coming from her bedroom. She wouldn't comment on the puffy and red eyes the next morning, or the tear-stained homework that would be hastily shoved in the school bag. She was pulled out of her musings when the youngest Shepard moved past her and made a beeline for the figure by the window.

* * *

"Hi mom," Jackie knelt on the ground in front of her mother and placed the pink box on her lap, "I stopped by your favorite place today."

Jenny Shepard reached down to trace the gold carvings on the box and smiled in thanks at her daughter. "So, did you skip school?"

"I knew you were eavesdropping." She rolled her eyes and laughed before pushing herself off the ground and getting behind her chair. "Nope. Today was early release. I would've been back earlier but I did make a pit stop at the bakery and I ran into Kate."

"How is she?" Jenny gathered the blanket on her lap and squinted at the bright sun that greeted them outside.

"Good. Says hi. She might come over next week if she can slip out early." She slowly pushed the wheelchair over to the small table and stepped on the brakes once the chair was close enough. "Wants to have girl talk with you."

"Is she still with that Navy Commander guy?"

"She is. I think she wants to break up with him though."

"Why's that?"

"She mentioned something about her biological clock ticking and he has never mentioned marriage and kids whatsoever." Jackie laughed.

"Ugh," Jenny groaned. "she makes it seem like she's so old. She's young enough to pass as your older sister."

The young girl shook her head and sat down. "Try telling her that." She reached for a piece of the sweet treat offered to her by her mother and popped it into her mouth.

"Why do you keep on shoving the whole piece into your mouth like you're not being fed. You're going to choke one of these days and your grandmother doesn't know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver."

"I like living on the edge." She shrugged.

Jackie was about to reach for another piece when a manicured hand lightly tapped her hand away from the box.

"Don't eat too much of that. The chef is almost finished cooking lunch." Josephine pushed the box back towards her daughter before taking a seat across from her granddaughter.

"I just had one!"

"It's too early to have that much sugar and besides, I asked the maid to make your favorite. _Citron presse_ \- which you put enough sugar in to make a million more macarons." The older Shepard raised her eyebrows before taking a sip of her drink.

The youngest Shepard raised her eyebrows in response and gestured at the drink in her grandmother's hand. "Isn't it a little too early to have your _Soixante Quinze_?"

"Darling, I'm French and it's five o'clock somewhere." She raised her glass towards Jackie before taking another drink.

Jenny shook her head at their exchange before picking up another piece of macaron to eat, ignoring her own mother's disapproving gaze towards the sweet treat.

* * *

**Musée du Louvre**

**Paris, France**

The man in uniform walked back and forth, clutching the small velvet box. He was waiting for his girlfriend who attended the mass at the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Catholic Church just behind the museum. They have been dating for several years and although his girlfriend has been very patient with him and his struggles with commitment, he knew she was running on a short fuse. She's been dropping numerous hints about kids and marriage and he's been silent about the subject. If he didn't act quickly and showed her how serious he is about wanting her in his life on a more permanent basis, he knew that she would drop him like a hot potato and would not look back.

The Commander sighed and tried to practice his speech once more. The sound of footsteps coming from behind caused him to pause.

"Finally, I thought the mass was never going to-" he cut himself off when he turned around and found the barrel of a gun directly in front of his face. The last thing he remembered was dropping the velvet box before a shot rang out and everything went black.

* * *

_Citron presse - a French version of lemonade_

_Soixante Quinze - aka French 75/75 cocktail. Made up of gin, lemon juice, sugar, and champagne_

_You Are The Reason - duet by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis. This song has been giving me the feels and I finally found a good use for it. 10/10 would recommend to be added on your playlist._

* * *

_**A/N: I'm not really putting a timeline on this just because math isn't my best subject and I don't really want to do all the calculation of ages and all that lol. So I'll just give you guys a rough estimate of everything. **_

_**-Jenny was very young when Colonel Jasper Shepard died**_

_**-Josephine moved them to France (let's just say that she's originally from there and wanted to go back to her hometown to raise her young kid alone)**_

_**-Jenny attended school in France until she turned 18 and moved to the US to attend Georgetown University**_

_**-Around 21, she graduated from college and went to FLETC**_

_**-By 22 she became a special agent for NCIS and was assigned to Gibbs' team (fun fact: did you guys know that the Criminal Investigator Training Program in FLETC takes 56 days? I didn't lol. I thought it's at least a year)**_

_**-Two years later the whole undercover thing in Europe happened and she left him that Dear John letter**_

_**-At 25, she had Jackie and by 34 she became the youngest and first female director of an armed federal agency (yay Jenny and yay for my whack timeline lol)**_

_**-She was the director for about 5 years when the whole JD thing happened**_

_**-It's only been about a year since her "death"**_

_**-Jenny is around 40 by this time and Jackie is 16**_

_**-Kate never worked for NCIS**_

_**-Kate is American but moved to France and is working for the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure aka General Directorate for External Security aka DGSE (according to my bff Wikipedia, it's the French equivalent of the CIA and MI6)**_


	2. Chapter 2

"_Secrets travel fast in Paris."_

_-Napoleon Bonaparte_

* * *

**Navy Yard**

**Washington, D.C.**

The elevator doors dinged open and as soon as Tim McGee set one foot out, he was hit by a whirling mass made up of his co-workers Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David.

"Ouch!" He yelled in pain as they quickly and roughly pushed him back in the elevators. "Really, guys? What is wrong with you two?"

"Shhh!" Tony shushed him as he repeatedly pushed the close button. "We're saving your ass McProbie! Our bossman is in a bad mood."

McGee looked at the two agents and glared at them suspiciously, "What did you guys do this time?"

"What makes you think we did something?" Ziva glared back.

"Well, obviously I didn't do anything since I just got here. It can't be Abby either because she's Gibbs' favorite. Ducky was just pulling into his parking spot when I was already on my way to the entrance. So, that leaves the two of you." Tim looked at them smugly.

Tony rolled his eyes at the probie agent. "Okay, fine. It may be because of us."

"So what _did _you guys do to deserve the wrath of Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

"Do you know what day it is today, probie?" Tony asked.

McGee looked up at the ceiling trying to remember if there was any birthdays or events he might have forgotten about. "No. I can't think of anything."

"Think really hard Tim." Ziva looked at him seriously.

The younger agent shook his head. "I really don't know what I'm missing guys."

Tony sighed, "It's _her_ death anniversary McForgetful."

"Whose death anniversary?"

Two head-slaps echoed in the dimly lit elevator and McGee's head jolted forward.

"Are you _serious_ McGee?" Ziva hissed.

It was as if a lightbulb went off in his head and he finally realized what he was missing.

"Oh. _Ohhh_…"

"Yeah," Tony sighed. "So now, we're playing the how-long-can-we-avoid-the-boss game."

The elevator doors dinged and the three agents stepped off. They all scurried in one by one into the room next door and proceeded to stand and stare at the sole occupant intently looking at the tv screen.

"Are you all just going to stand and stare at me all day?"

"Why are you doing this to yourself Abs?" Tony asked.

"What else am I supposed to? I'm assuming you guys are all here to avoid Gibbs." Abby turned her attention back to the screen as the photo changed. "You know, I have this sad fantasy in my head that somewhere, somehow, she's still alive. It's stupid, but I would give anything to see Gibbs smile again. He hasn't been the same. No one has."

Ziva shifted in the back uncomfortably.

There was a tense and awkward silence until a booming voice startled all the room's occupants.

"Hey!" The voice echoed in the room. "Why is no one working at their desks?"

Everyone turned at the source of the voice.

"I-"

"I was on my way to-"

"I was just-"

"Save it." He cut them off. "The director wants all of us in MTAC."

The three agents quickly disappeared and the silver-haired man was left with the goth.

"Gibbs!" The goth stood up and flung herself to the agent. "How are you? Are you okay? Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to try and talk to the director? I don't think he'll listen but I can try and-"

"Abs." He interrupted. "Everything's fine. I'm fine."

"That's what everyone says! I just wish everyone would stop saying that they're fine when clearly they're not!" The goth glared at him suspiciously.

"Abby, I really am fine. I don't know what else you want me to say or do. I'm dealing with it."

"And by dealing with it do you mean: sanding your boat in your dark basement and drinking bourbon all by your lonesome?"

Gibbs smirked and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking back out of her lab.

* * *

"This is Navy Commander Timothy Kerry." Leon Vance pointed to the photo on the large screen in MTAC. "Born and raised in Washington, D.C., joined the Navy after graduating high school and was stationed all over the world until he met his girlfriend in France."

The MTAC tech pulled up another photo that showed a smiling brunette.

"This is Caitlin Todd. She was born here in the US, but has lived in France for the most part of her life. She's currently working for the General Directorate for External Security. Think of it as the French version of the CIA and MI6. She was the one that found him shot dead by the Louvre after she attended mass at the church next door. "

Tony whistled at the photo before grimacing in pain as Ziva elbowed him.

"What? I bet you she did it."

"Must you aways insist that it's the wife or the girlfriend?" Ziva glared at the senior field agent. "Someone she deeply cared about was just murdered and you're immediately putting the blame on her?"

"It's always the wife or the girlfriend Zee-vah!"

Vance cleared his throat to interrupt the two bickering agents. "As of right now, there are no suspects. The French authorities didn't even want to involve NCIS. However, because Commander Kerry is a Navy officer, they didn't exactly have choice but to involve the agency. One condition is that the investigation be conducted on-site."

"Waaaait!" Tony interrupted, excitement clear in his voice. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

"Pack your bags. You're all going to France." Vance nodded his head.

Gibbs rolled his eyes as Tony excitedly walked out of MTAC, dragging the two younger agents behind him.

"You don't understand Zee-vah! We're going to the City of Love!" his voice echoed down the hall.

"I do not understand what makes you so excited. It's not like we're on vacation. We are going to be investigating a murder. And for your information, Paris is the City of Lights and Rome is the City of Love."

"Why do you always need to correct me?"

"Because you're always wrong!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The voices continued to echo until the MTAC doors closed and Gibbs was left alone with the Director.

"You have the lead on this Gibbs. Don't embarrass me or the agency. SecNav is already hovering."

"Aren't I always on my best behavior Leon?"

The Director glared at the senior agent. "No," he said bluntly.

Gibbs smirked, "I'll do my best to charm the French then."

Vance shook his head as Gibbs exited the room, praying to whoever might listen that his agents don't embarrass him or cause any trouble.

* * *

**Quai des Orfèvres, 1st arrondissement**

**Paris, France**

McGee knocked on the door and waited for the owner to greet them. Shuffling can be heard from the other side before the doorknob turned and the door creaked open. The young agent held up his badge and introduced himself.

"I'm special agent Timothy McGee and this is special agent Gibbs. We're with NCIS. May we come in?"

The brunette on the other side of the door gave Gibbs a look before nodding her head and stepping aside to allow them entrance. The apartment was spacious and overlooked the Seine river. She led them over to the sitting area by the balcony. McGee sat down and pulled out his small notebook and a pen while Gibbs walked around the apartment.

"Can I get you anything agent McGee?"

"Uh, no thank you ma'am. I'm okay."

"Please, call me Kate. What about you, agent…?"

"Gibbs." McGee supplied.

"Can I get you anything to drink agent Gibbs?" She asked.

Gibbs shook his head and continued looking at the photos decorating the walls and almost every flat surface.

"How long have you known Commander Kerry?"

"About three years. We met when he became a temporary liaison at my job."

"Can you think of any reason why something like this would happen to him?"

"We work for the government agent McGee. If no one wants you dead are you really doing your job right?"

"Has he received any threats whatsoever?"

"Not that I know of. He hasn't mentioned anything out of the ordinary."

Gibbs continued to looking around for anything that might help them with the case when he spotted an interesting framed photo by the fireplace that made him freeze. He snatched the frame off the shelf violently and stalked towards the brunette and his probie agent.

"Who is she?" He demanded, shoving the framed photo in front of Kate's face.

McGee looked up from his notebook when he heard his boss' thundering footsteps and angry demand from their witness. The probie agent glanced at the photo to see what his boss was suddenly so worked up about and his eyes widened when he spotted Kate with a girl who looks like a young version of their deceased director. The same director who died a year ago and did not have any record of having any family members left.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Life is a hell of a thing to happen to someone."_

_-Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, Criminal Minds_

* * *

**Avenue Montaigne, 8th arrondissement**

**Paris, France**

"Addison called." Josephine Shepard called out when the front doors swung open.

"Aunt Addie?" Jackie asked, pushing her mother's wheelchair closer to where her grandmother was sitting.

The older Shepard nodded her head. "The doctor forwarded Jenny's test results to Derek for a second opinion. He said that there seems to be a clot that built up underneath your old gunshot wound, and it's what's causing that pinching feeling you were having. His contacts here are hesitant to operate because they think that it's too risky, but Derek thinks he has a good chance at removing the clot and allowing you to finally walk without any pain."

Jenny nodded, "When are we leaving?"

"Tonight. The last flight leaves in a couple of hours." Josephine looked at her watch and nodded to her granddaughter, "Go on and pack, I'll take care of your mother's things. Be ready to go in two hours."

The two older Shepard women watched as the teenager walked away. The younger of the two waited until she heard the door shut before turning back to her companion.

"What are you not telling me?" Jenny asked.

"Ziva called right after I hung up with Addison. Apparently she's been trying to call repeatedly, but with such an important topic, I wanted to get as much information as possible and the call lasted longer than expected." Josephine sighed, "Apparently, the National Police had to call in NCIS because Caitlin's partner was a Navy Commander."

"Are you saying…?"

The Shepard matriarch nodded, "They're here. _All _of them. She didn't go into too much detail since they were rushed to get on the first flight out, but your sperm donor _is_ running around somewhere in Paris as we speak. I just hope Ziva would be the one to interview Caitlin in the event that she accidentally discloses too much detail."

Ignoring the jab her mother used to describe her former lover, Jenny nodded, already feeling a headache coming. They needed to leave Paris quickly and put as much distance as she can between her daughter and her daughter's father.

* * *

**Musée du Louvre**

**Paris, France**

There's just something about Europe that never gets old. Is it the air? The food? The people? The buildings rich in history? We may never know. Ziva would love to take a vacation anywhere in the European continent. She has been all over the world for her job, but she has never had the chance to actually enjoy the sights and culture each country has to offer. Maybe once this case is closed and the rest of the team is safely back across the Atlantic Ocean, she'll finally use her vacation hours and come back.

Ziva nodded to herself, already planning an excuse as to why she suddenly wants to use her vacation time that she hasn't touched in years. She could hang around Jenny's apartment, and maybe take her and Jackie to do some sightseeing together. Lord knows they all need to be out and about this beautiful city, immersing themselves with the city's history and not constantly being surrounded by a rotating army of housekeepers, chefs, or doctors. She missed her friend and goddaughter terribly. She couldn't believe it took a murder of a Navy Commander to get her back on French soil. Maybe she could sneak away later to say a quick hello before they get down to business with this case.

"Ziva! Look at this shot!" Tony came running behind her carrying his camera.

"DiNozzo we're supposed to be working."

"We are working. I just happen to have a camera and an iconic landmark also happens to be right in front of me. It would be a crime to not take advantage of this."

"It would be a crime if I beat you with that camera." She snapped.

Tony glared at his partner. "What's got your granny panties in a twist? We're in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and all you've done since we landed is look around suspiciously. Are you waiting for someone to jump you?"

"Unlike some people, I can't just sleep on the plane and snore like a drunken sailor. I'm a little tired." Ziva sped up as she spotted the area of the square blocked off with loud, yellow "_scène de crime ne pas traverser_" tapes.

Tony jogged behind her to catch up as she flashed her badge to the French police.

"_Bonjour, je suis l'agent David. Voici l'agent DiNozzo. Nous sommes avec NCIS_ (Hello, I am agent David. This is agent DiNozzo. We're from NCIS)."

* * *

**Quai des Orfèvres, 1st arrondissement**

**Paris, France**

"Who is she?" He demanded, holding the frame in front of the brunette's face.

Kate glared at him, "Excuse you. You don't have the right to touch my stuff!"

"If you don't answer my question I'll arrest you for impeding a federal investigation." He threatened.

McGee looked back and forth between Kate and his boss, confused as to why he was suddenly threatening to arrest this woman, who seemed like she had done nothing wrong, over a photograph.

"That's Jackie. She's like a little sister to me. She's the daughter of a friend." Kate continued to glare at the senior field agent.

"Whose daughter?" Gibbs pushed.

"Jeremy Hanlon." Kate answered, irritated. "Will you please explain why you're yelling at me over some photograph?"

Gibbs squeezed the frame until his knuckles turned white. "Jeremy Hanlon died more than 10 years ago."

* * *

**Navy Yard**

**Washington D.C.**

Abby was giving a pep talk to her equipments when she was interrupted by the loud shrill of her computer, indicating there was someone trying to call her. She bounced to the front of her monitor and put her headset on before answering. She was greeted by an angry looking agent and a worried looking one lingering in the back.

"Hi Gibbs! How's Paris? Is it cool? Have you eaten some baguettes and macarons yet? Did you-"

"_Abby._" The angry agent on the other end interrupted. "_I need you to look someone up for me_."

"Ugh. You're all work and no games, Gibbs. Live a little. But since you're my favorite person in the entire world, I'll let that go. What can I do for you?"

"_See what you can find about Jacqueline Hanlon_."

The goth nodded and started searching through her database.

"Nothing."

"_What about Jacqueline Shepard?_"

"Okay…" she edited the information for her search, starting to feel suspicious about this call. "Still nothing."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed his hand tiredly around his face. "_Try Jacqueline Gibbs_."

"Excuse me? Gibbs, _what_ exactly are you getting at? McGee what is wrong with him? What's this about?"

"_Just do what the boss says Abby. I'll fill you in when I get a chance." _The younger agent said, peeking from behind their team leader.

The scientist glared at the young agent before nodding and turning back to her search.

"Still nothing, Gibbs. Who is this girl you're trying to find?"

"_She's connected to Jenny. I need to find her._"

Abby's eyes widened. "Are you saying this girl might be Jenny's kid? And why are you asking me to look for her with different last names? Do you think she's your kid too? Like, there's a possibility of an actual living and breathing French Gibblet running around there somewhere?"

"_Abby. Have you found anything at all?_"

The young scientist glared at the older agent. "I'm looking at Director Shepard's file right now and there's no daughter listed. But, there is a sealed file attached that if it was anyone else but me, they wouldn't be able to access it. Luckily for you, I am very talented and can hack the system with my own decoding program. The only downside is that I have a limited amount of time to sift through whatever files I'm about to access because if I stay too long, the system might detect me, kick me out, and send an alert to the main server."

"_Who's keeping an eye on these files? NCIS?_"

"That's the weird thing. Other than her standard file that I had easy access to, these hidden files are sourced from INTERPOL."

"_INTERPOL? What do they have to do with her?"_

"I don't know… you were the one that knew her the longest. She must have some serious pull to have these files redacted by international cops before she even became a director."

Gibbs watched her through the monitors as she typed in access codes and quickly read through the files. He watched as her eyes widened and quickly shot him a look before returning back to reading whatever file she gained access to.

McGee started alternating between pacing and hovering over his shoulder as they waited for Abby to finish reading the files. The young agent was about to lean back in for the third time and Gibbs was turned halfway to yell at him when the goth on the other line made a triumphant noise.

"Finished reading just in time! That's like a record for me. I don't think I ever read anything that fast my entire life."

"_Abby. What did you find?_"

"Well, on the easily accessed main file, Director Shepard's only family are her parents, Josephine and Jasper Shepard. After her father's death, it was like her mother just disappeared off the face of the earth. However, the hidden files I accessed listed her mother's full name. Josephine Forbes Shepard. So I dug around for Josephine Forbes. The Forbes family is loaded. No wonder there's no paper trails. She pretty much uses cash for everything. And any business transactions that need to be handled is done through her sister, Elizabeth Forbes - Montgomery, who currently lives in Hartford, Connecticut and has two children - Archer and Addison Montgomery - Shepherd." Abby gasped for air and quickly continued with the newfound information.

"Anyway, Josephine kept the Forbes side away from the Shepard side. Which is good I guess because then if someone with not so good intentions were to go sniffing around the director's file, it would seem like they hit a dead end. After her father died, her mother left the country and went back to using her maiden name, which was also why I couldn't find anything on Josephine Shepard. When you read through her mother's file, you'll find that Josephine Forbes has a granddaughter. A Jacqueline Lauren Forbes. I hacked into her school file and found that she's 16-years-old, and is at the top of her class at Lycée Henri-IV. Anyone who is worth knowing graduated from this school. They spit out top writers, philosophers, scientists, artists, lawyers, diplomats, statesmen, and politicians like they're candy. She seems to really have a passion for languages. She's fluent in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. She's currently enrolled in a Dutch language class and consistently receives top marks. All of her classes are also on the advanced level, and to top that off, she is the captain of the tennis and equestrian team. " Abby looked focused on the agent in front of her and continued softly. "Lemme tell you something Gibbs, this girl is one smart and hard working cookie… just like her parents." she smiled.

"_Just like her mother._" Gibbs mumbled. "_Do you have an address?_"

"35 Rue de la Bienfaisance 75008 Paris, France." Abby glanced at the young agent standing in the back. "Make sure you spell it right McGee. I don't want the two of you ending up on the wrong side of a foreign city."

* * *

_Scène de crime ne pas traverser - crime scene don't cross_

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**-Yes, THE double board certified Addison Adrienne Forbes Montgomery - Shepherd (MerDer fans don't hate lmao. Addek will always be my babies)**_

_**-Let's just say Jenny and Addison are related (cousins maybe?)**_

_**-I am so so sorry I took forever! Time flies by so fast I didn't realize how long it's been since I last updated this fic. I hate not finishing fics and leaving my readers hanging.. Life just happened and things started piling up. I really do feel bad. I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that continues to support me. **_


End file.
